Whenever people decide to get a brand new residence, whether it is a house, an apartment, a condo, or a tent, there are lots of decisions involved. You want the best and most comfortable place you can possibly get.
When you are about to get a
fish tank for your new discus fish, the same considerations about a home should be guiding your decisions. A proper discus fish tank is essential to the success of your new fish community.
With some fish almost any aquarium or tank will do, but this is not the case with discus. They are some of the prima donnas of the fish community. They demand "high class" or problems will result. They may even "check out" on you if conditions are not right. You know what I mean?
Before you decide which tank you will buy, you must make a decision about how many discus fish you will be keeping. This is a very important factor in figuring out how large your fish home should be. The guideline is that you will need about 10 gallons per discus.
Here's an additional little tip - six discus is a great number to start with. Somehow, this works out really well, much better than 3, 4 or 5.
If you do the math here, a 60 gallon tank will house six of your new beauties.
Another tip - don't get a smaller tank due to the fact you are starting with young, small fish. Yes, fish that are only 2" can live in a more compact living space, but get the right size to start with. Changing your discus home after a couple of months is not your best choice.
Next decision: decide which material your new tank will be made from.
Your options are glass or acrylic.
Glass is the most widely used material. It has advantages and disadvantages.
The first advantage is the price. Glass is a cheaper option for a fish tank than acrylic, and when you are contemplating cost for your discus fish tank, this is one place you may choose to save some cash, because the fish are more expensive than you might think.
Glass is more readily available than acrylic, so this is yet another advantage of glass over acrylic. You can find a glass aquarium to fit your needs at just about any place that stocks aquariums.
One drawback of glass is that it can be scratched. And once that happens, you are stuck. It can't be "erased" by buffing, which is possible with an acrylic material.
Glass is also difficult to drill through. Not impossible, but if you need a hole for your filter setup, this could be an issue.
Acrylic has some major advantages.
Acrylic tanks have a major advantage over glass in that there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to discus fish tank design. You can have your tank just about any shape you can imagine.
Acrylic is also safer than glass (and lighter, too). It does not shatter, and this is a major consideration if your 5 year old will be practicing t-ball in the vicinity of the fish tank.
The major disadvantage of acrylic is the price. It is much more than glass, especially if you are going for a distinctive design.
Tip - avoid plastic if at all possible. Plastic will cloud over time.
Decisions about which tank you will use should be made are quite essential, but just as important is that you make them before you even think about getting your discus fish... way before. Because you will want your tank all set up with water that is in good condition and ready to receive its new inhabitants.
Water for your discus fish tank is so important that it demands its own article.
